Minnesota Golden Gophers
Overall Rank: #30
Conference Rank: #1 Big Ten
Minnesota continued its rise back amongst the best in college baseball in 2018 as they won the Big Ten Championship and advanced to the Corvallis Super Regional in 2018. The Golden Gophers, under the leadership of head coach John Anderson, have consistently been pretty good but in recent years have elevated their program. The rise of Minnesota is a perfect example of the benefits of having your games on the Big Ten Network, which has a nationwide reach and proves that you can win at a high level at a place like Minnesota.
2018: 44-15, 18-4
2018 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: John Anderson
Key Departed Players:
Terrrin Vavra, INF, .386 BA 10 HR, 59 RBI
Luke Petersen, INF, .322 BA, 1 HR, 27 RBI, 13 SB
Toby Hanson, INF/OF, .318 BA, 3 HR, 33 RBI
Alex Boxwell, OF, .258 BA, 6 HR, 34 RBI, 21 SB
Micah Coffey, INF, .278 BA, 5 HR, 34 RBI
Reggie Meyer, P, 2.97 ERA, 8-4 W/L, 109.0 IP, 15 BB, 70 SO
Jackson Rose, P, 1.99 ERA, 5-1 W/L, 31.2 IP, 14 BB, 30 SO
Key Returning Players:
Ben Mezzenga, OF, .383 BA, 0 HR, 28 RBI, 12 SB
Eli Wilson, C, .289 BA, 5 HR, 37 RBI
Jordan Kozicky, INF/OF, .271 BA, 5 HR, 38 RBI
Cole McDevitt, C/IF, .271 BA, 9 HR, 46 RBI
Patrick Frederickson, P, 1.86 ERA, 9-0 W/L, 97.0 IP, 27 BB, 73 SO
Max Meyer, P/INF, 2.06 ERA, 2-3 W/L, 43.2 IP, 13 BB, 54 SO
Brett Schulze, P, 2.03 ERA, 9-0 W/L, 51.2 IP, 24 BB, 47 SO
Projection:
Ben Mezzenga hit.383 last season for the Golden Gophers and has very good speed as he stole 12 bases in 17 attempts to go along with a .466 on-base percentage. Mezzenga is a going to set a great tone for the rest of the offense. Cole McDevitt is the leading returning power hitter with nine homeruns and 46 runs batted in and he will have plenty of help in the lineup in 2019. Eli Wilson and Jordan Kozicky combined for 10 homeruns and 75 runs batted in last season and this trio should be able to offset the lost power from Terrin Vavra. Vavra hit ten homeruns drove in 59, hit .386 and walked 30 times, while striking out just 22. Patrick Fredrickson, Max Meyer, and Brett Schulze will anchor the pitching staff as those three guys do a great job of throwing strikes and not giving away at bats. The Golden Gophers have a good non-conference slate with games against Oregon State, Dallas Baptist, NC State, Washington, and Oklahoma that will set their RPI up nicely for the selection committee. If Minnesota can stay healthy and put together a strong offensive season, they should win the Big Ten and be back in the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
